Thursday, December 22, 2016

City seeks contractors to negotiate homeless hotel rates

From the Daily News:

The city is looking for contractors to rent out the thousands of hotel rooms it uses to house the homeless, in the hopes of cutting down the sky-high cost of the accommodations.

As the Daily News first reported, the city is shelling out $400,000 a night for commercial hotel rooms for the homeless, an audit by City Controller Scott Stringer found — with some rooms in Times Square costing more than $600 a night.

Now, a request for proposals set to be released Thursday seeks nonprofit vendors to enter into contracts with the city and then rent out hotel rooms on the city’s behalf. That would replace the emergency procurement process the Department of Homeless Services has been relying on.

Mayor de Blasio has vowed to stop using hotel rooms altogether, but with the homeless population continuing to surge, officials now admit that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

The bid expects contractors to find up to 3,900 hotel rooms, with 2,500 of them used for families with children.

The city believes the move will save money because contractors will be able to negotiate flat monthly rates, avoiding spikes in hotel room rates that happen at peak times. Officials don’t have an estimate of how much will be saved.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing says you're doing it for the taxpayer like paying someone to spend more of our money
-somethingstructural

JQ LLC said...

That's what happens when you open a hotel in a residential area/tourist desert. Although it's been exposed that this was a money making scheme to manufacture and exploit the homeless crisis to make money.

Will this work when all those hotels open in sunset park, fresh meadows and jamaica?

Joe Moretti said...

SURE...................................................because contractors are such honest, ethical folks.

Anonymous said...

Why not use contractors to renovate these city owned apartment building?? You know the run down vacant buildings?
With this use of contractors also has the city "wash" their hands of any problems etc by saying oh it was the them not us who put you in that environment.
The right to shelter law must be extended to all states.

Anonymous said...

What a boon for the tourist industry!!!

No vacancies all over and available rooms will be going for $600+++ a night. At those rates the tourists will be flocking to the city.

Anonymous said...

Taxpayers pay for all this anyway no matter who does the negotiating.
Maybe Trump's upset victory against the stinking political system should be followed in displacing complacent Queens crooks like Councilman Paul Vallone.
Now, there's an entitled bastard , from a political dynasty, that ruined Astoria.
He will fuck the northeast, then move on.
That's what the Vallone political mafia does.
Vote the bald headed SOB out!
At least Don Paulo is man enough not to wear a hair rug like his dad and brother Pete Jr. Vallone.

(sarc) said...

The Art of the Deal...

Anonymous said...

"Now, a request for proposals set to be released Thursday seeks nonprofit vendors to enter into contracts with the city and then rent out hotel rooms on the city’s behalf."... There is that word again, ' nonprofit'. Whenever the word nonprofit and NYC are used in the same sentence you can be sure that someone is making big bucks off a City contact, all part of the NYC friends and family program. With thousands of employees on the payroll how is it that a couple more could not make it their job to negotiate better hotel rates for the City. The Mayor is just making sure his friends are getting a piece of the action.

Res Ipsa said...

I don't understand why the city needs anyone to negotiate on its behalf. The City has more negotiating leverage as an entity than any fly by night not for profit would ever have. Dome of these not for profits are only in business because of the grants they get from the city and state anyway. So why does the city need this middle man?

Anonymous said...

So why does the city need this middle man?

Go to our banner page. Read the quote under "Why your neighborhood is filled with crap" Its a quote from 'George Washington Plunkett'.

Anonymous said...

>I don't understand why the city needs anyone to negotiate on its behalf. The City has more negotiating leverage as an entity than any fly by night not for profit would ever have. Dome of these not for profits are only in business because of the grants they get from the city and state anyway. So why does the city need this middle man?

Excellent question.

Anonymous said...

Anon said: With thousands of employees on the payroll how is it that a couple more could not make it their job to negotiate better hotel rates for the City.

Make that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of city employees ...

Anonymous said...

You mean the art of the steal!

Anonymous said...

""So why does the city need this middle man""

So they can PRETEND they are not ramming Illegals, homeless, drug addicts, felons (just released from jail programs) and welfare brats down out throats.
Its also a buffer against legal issues.
Most the homeless with children are not our own but illegals Obama sent along with some federal cash payola. Over 3 illegal "family units" arrive at LGA every day

Camel bladder said...

Does any one else think that maybe when the word got out that NYC puts homeless/bums/junkies into $600 per night hotels that the number of "people" needing shelter would grow rapidly? The alleged homeless for the most part don't need government paid housing and social services, they need discipline in a labor camp.